Month: July 2014

The Macy’s department store at Desoto Square Mall will close by the end of the year, according to company officials.

Employees at the Bradenton mall were told Thursday that the 132,000-square-foot Macy’s department store, which opened in the mall in the 1970s as a Burdines, will close. Clearance sales will begin Monday, Aug. 4, and are expected to run through mid-September, said Melissa Goff, spokeswoman for Macy’s.

It is unclear at this time when the department store will shutter for good. Goff said that will depend on sales.

The Macy’s store at Desoto Square Mall employs 127 people. Most will be offered positions at the Mall at University Town Center, which is just 10 miles away from the Desoto location. Macy’s plans to hire 175 employees to staff the new department store at the Mall at UTC, Goff said.

DeSoto is easily the weakest retail mall player in the region, at a time when Southwest Florida is poised to be the only part of the country opening a new enclosed mall.

Macy’s operates 13 department stores in the Tampa Bay area, including in Westfield Group’s Sarasota Square Mall and Southgate Mall. Both Sarasota stores will remain open for the time being.

Macy’s is one of three anchors at the new $315 million Mall at University Town Center, which will open on Oct. 16. Saks Fifth Avenue announced last year it will leave Southgate Mall for the Mall at UTC when it opens.

Desoto Square Mall, which is currently up for sale by auction, has struggled to retain quality tenants over the years.

Lease documents enclosed in the auction details shows that Macy’s extended its lease of its anchor space to Jan. 30, 2023 last year. Prior to the extension, Macy’s lease would have expired April 15, 2015.

For more shopping news in Southwest Florida, follow reporter Justine Griffin on Twitter and Facebook or email her at justine.griffin@heraldtribune.com. Read What’s In Store in print on Tuesdays.

Here are the basics if you’re venturing out in search of savings.WHAT: Florida’s sales tax holiday weekend allows shoppers in the Sunshine State to buy school supplies, apparel and some electronics without paying sales tax.

WHERE TO SHOP: Most retail stores in Florida and purchases made online will be exempt of the state sales tax. Merchandise purchased in hotels, theme parks or airports will be taxed

COUPON POLICY: Most items will still be tax exempt if retailers’ coupons<NO1> (like Walmart or Target) drop the price under $100 per item. Manufacturers’ coupons that drop merchandise prices under $100 per item (like Macy’s or Dillard’s) will usually not trigger the exemption.

Source: Florida Department of Revenue

BY THE NUMBERS:

5 percent: Amount sales are expected to grow in 2014 over last year

$74.9 billion: Overall U.S. sales for back-to-school season

$34: The average amount a teenager will spend of their own money on back to school items

34 percent: Percentage of shoppers who will buy more generic products because of the state of the economy

58 percent: Percentage of shoppers who plan to buy iPads, laptops and other electronics items for back to school

Photo by Mike Lang, Herald-Tribune staffFor more shopping news in Southwest Florida, follow reporter Justine Griffin on Twitter and Facebook or email her at justine.griffin@heraldtribune.com. Read What’s In Store in print on Tuesdays.

Paris Paris, a kiosk-based retailer that sells hair accessories in Southgate Mall, will close for good after nearly a decade in the Westfield Group mall, on July 31.

Owners Eric Chojnowski and Min Geong Chang have signed a lease to open a new kiosk in the Mall at University Tow Center. The kiosk in Southgate Mall will close tomorrow, July 31, after operating in the Sarasota mall at U.S. 41 and Bee Ridge Road since 2005.

“We’re looking forward to a fresh start and being part of all the activity at the new mall,” Chojnowski said.

Despite higher rents with Taubman Centers, the Michigan-based mall operator and one two developers of the $315 million Sarasota County retail project, Chojnowski said they worry that Southgate Mall will not generate enough traffic once the Mall at University Town Center opens in October.

Chojnowski and Chang began their business selling hair extensions, clips and other accessories in Las Vegas. Chojnowski, a University of South Florida alumni, was driven to Sarasota because Southgate Mall was one of the top performing centers in the area at that time.

“10 years ago, this was a very popular, nice family mall,” he said.

To see a full list of retailers coming to the Mall at University Town Center, click here.

The Herald-Tribune reported reported stores like Apple, Anthropologie, Crate & Barrel and others will open in the Mall at University Town Center last year. The 880,000-square-foot retail center will open October 16.

For more shopping news in Southwest Florida, follow reporter Justine Griffin on Twitter and Facebook or email her at justine.griffin@heraldtribune.com. Read What’s In Store in print on Tuesdays.

L’Occitane En Provence, an international skin care line, is the latest retailer to commit to opening in the Mall at University Town Center.

The French company makes and sells body, face and home products made from natural ingredients like anti-aging moisturizers and original fragrances for men and women. The company opened its first boutique in France in 1978 and now has more than 2,000 boutiques around the world.

The store at the Mall at University Town Center will be L’Occitane‘s second in Florida. The other is at International Plaza in Tampa.

To see a full list of retailers coming to the Mall at University Town Center, click here.

The Herald-Tribune reported reported stores like Apple, Anthropologie, Crate & Barrel and others will open in the Mall at University Town Center last year. The 880,000-square-foot retail center will open October 16.

For more shopping news in Southwest Florida, follow reporter Justine Griffin on Twitter and Facebook or email her at justine.griffin@heraldtribune.com. Read What’s In Store in print on Tuesdays.

An auction to sell off Bradenton’s Desoto Square Mall is scheduled to begin Tuesday.

The 680,271-square-foot mall, anchored by J.C. Penney and Sears, is listed on the website auction.com with a starting bid of $9 million for the entire 73.5-acre parcel.

Great Neck, New York-based Mason Asset Management bought the mall from Simon Property Group for $24.6 million in 2012. Despite its track record of turning struggling centers into prosperous ones, Mason has invested very little in the property.

E’s Best Barbecue sauce, made by a Palmetto-based company, is now available at The Fresh Market locations in the Tampa Bay area.

The locally owned barbecue sauce company has been producing authentic North Carolina styled smoky sauces for 25 years. E’s Best recently completed its 8th bottling of its original sauces at his Manatee County location. The company’s products are available in more than 50 different stores across five states.

“We are very excited that Fresh Market is stocking our sauces,” said Elmer Hilker, president, E’s Best. “The potential for growth is enormous and we look forward to a long and sustainable relationship. Our plan is to be in more Fresh Market stores.”

The finishing sauces will be available for taste testings during special demonstrations at The Fresh Market stores in the future.

Fit 2 Run, a sports performance retail chain, will open its downtown Sarasota location on Saturday.

The running store is opening in the former Patrick’s 1481 restaurant space at 1400 Main St., which most recently housed the Floribbean Restaurant. The Floribbean closed in May 2013.

The building was bought by Christopher J. Brown, a businessman from Osprey, for $2.65 million last year, records show. The sale officially ended plans by the former owner to revamp the site into an 18-story hotel.

The two-story, 22,325-square-foot Fit2Run storefront has since been transformed. Inside, the store will sell running shoes, apparel and accessories. Fit2Run operates 10 stores in Florida, including a store off University Parkway near Interstate 75.

The retail company, known as “the runner’s superstore,” was recently recognized as one of the 50 best running stores in America by trade publications, Running Insight and Competitor Magazine.

Fit 2 Run is the first retailer of many new offerings expected to open on downtown Sarasota’s Main Street this year.

Earlier this summer, McCurdy’s Comedy Theater opened inside the former Shaner’s pizzeria on Ringling Boulevard. The longtime comedy theater left its North Tamiami Trail home after many years.

Ker’s WingHouse, a national chain, took over the space formerly occupied by Half Shell Oyster House on Main Street. Ker’s is the first sports-themed establishment downtown since the Sports Page Bar & Grill closed in April to make way for a luxury condominium project.

By the end of the summer, downtown Sarasota also will welcome a national jewelry chain storefront, Alex and Ani, in the former Super Value Vitamins space at 1461 Main Street.

Word of Beer, a craft beer bar, will open in the space formerly held by Eat Here.

Photo courtesy of Fit2Run

For more shopping news in Southwest Florida, follow reporter Justine Griffin on Twitter and Facebook or email her at justine.griffin@heraldtribune.com. Read What’s In Store in print on Tuesdays.

Watch this video shot by Ryan Hintze that shows what the Mall at University Town Center looks like from above. Hintze attached a camera to a flying drone device to shoot the video.

To see a full list of retailers coming to the Mall at University Town Center, click here.

The Herald-Tribune reported reported stores like Apple, Anthropologie, Crate & Barrel and others will open in the Mall at University Town Center last year. The 880,000-square-foot retail center will open October 16.

For more shopping news in Southwest Florida, follow reporter Justine Griffin on Twitter and Facebook or email her at justine.griffin@heraldtribune.com. Read What’s In Store in print on Tuesdays.

Oakley, a national chain of designer eyewear, goggles and accessories, will open an Oakley O store inside the Mall at University Town Center.

The California-based chain filed building permits with Sarasota County this week, confirming the retailer is one of the last tenants to start construction inside the 880,000-square-foot mall. The nearest Oakley O store is in Tampa at International Plaza. However, Oakley products are sold in Sunglass Hut and other retailers in Florida, too.

Oakley designs and sells sports performance merchandise and is known for its designer brand of eyewear.

To see a full list of retailers coming to the Mall at University Town Center, click here.

The Herald-Tribune reported reported stores like Apple, Anthropologie, Crate & Barrel and others will open in the Mall at University Town Center last year. The 880,000-square-foot retail center will open October 16.

For more shopping news in Southwest Florida, follow reporter Justine Griffin on Twitter and Facebook or email her at justine.griffin@heraldtribune.com. Read What’s In Store in print on Tuesdays.

Smoothie King is the latest retailer to file building permits with Sarasota County to build inside the Mall at University Town Center.

The chain known for its cold fruit smoothies will open its fourth store in Southwest Florida inside the new mall. Smoothie King joins other express restauranteurs like Mandarin Express, Starbucks, Auntie Ann’s and Rise Pizza coming to the mall.

To see a full list of retailers coming to the Mall at University Town Center, click here.

The Herald-Tribune reported reported stores like Apple, Anthropologie, Crate & Barrel and others will open in the Mall at University Town Center last year. The 880,000-square-foot retail center will open October 16.

For more shopping news in Southwest Florida, follow reporter Justine Griffin on Twitter and Facebook or email her at justine.griffin@heraldtribune.com. Read What’s In Store in print on Tuesdays.